Kentucky basketball’s Jayden Quaintance won’t play against Texas

Once again, Jayden Quaintance has been ruled out for Kentucky basketball.

The Wildcats (12-6 overall and 3-2 in the SEC) are set to host Texas (11-7, 2-3) inside Rupp Arena on Wednesday night, and Quaintance won’t play for Kentucky in that one.

During his weekly press conference Tuesday afternoon, UK coach Mark Pope ruled Quaintance out for the matchup with the Longhorns.

“He’s making progress. We’re super optimistic,” Pope said. “He’s kind of going through the process, and hopefully he’ll be back soon.”

This was confirmed Tuesday night in the availability report for both UK and Texas. Quaintance and point guard Jaland Lowe — who is out for the remainder of the season due to a right shoulder injury — were the only two Wildcats listed. All Longhorns are available to play.

This will mark the fourth consecutive game that Quaintance has missed. The 6-foot-10 sophomore also missed Kentucky’s recent victories over Tennessee, Mississippi State and LSU due to swelling in his surgically repaired knee. As a freshman last season at Arizona State, Quaintance tore his ACL in February 2025. He underwent surgery for the torn ACL in March and was still in the early stages of rehabbing that injury when he joined the Wildcats as a transfer during the offseason.

Quaintance has only played in four games for the Cats this season. He made his Kentucky debut in a 78-66 victory over St. John’s on Dec. 20, as he tallied 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in a UK comeback win.

But, in three appearances following that contest, Quaintance has combined for 10 points, 12 rebounds, one blocked shot and six turnovers in 49 minutes on the court. His most recent appearance for UK was also his first start for the Wildcats, during which he logged 18 minutes in a home loss to Missouri on Jan. 7.

Despite these injury issues, Quaintance is still projected as a lottery pick in this summer’s NBA draft.

This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 1:01 PM.

Cameron Drummond

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-242-5257

Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas. Support my work with a digital subscription